So what is the state of the union?

As President Obama gave his speech yesterday evening, much of our office either rushed home or stayed late to hear what he had to say. It was a generally uplifting message in which he addressed income inequality as the “defining issue of our time” and pointedly encouraged Congress to function as a team. He preached the ‘Hope and Change’ rhetoric that solidified his victory four years ago and discussed concerns we all have (gender equality, drop-out rates, jobs).
Will we truly see positive, cooperative action from our government? Will the presidential election result in polarized opinions and stalemates?

-TM

Read more:
Here is an article that looks on the SOTU as just a “feel-good” speech.
This is a piece for the Huffington Post focusing on the bipartisan support given to Obama post-address.

Obama said yes! We got a signing ceremony in the Oval Office!

After a five year quest to get the attention of the United States government, we have done it.

President Obama agreed to a signing ceremony in the Oval Office for the signing of the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act! After the unbelievable rallying we all did to see this bill pass unanimously through Congress, and the props they gave us on the House floor (I’ll never forget that for the rest of my life), we have seen impossible dreams come true.

After the bill’s unanimous passage, we asked the White House for a signing ceremony with the President so that we could hold him accountable to this mandate and see Joseph Kony arrested.

On Saturday, President Obama accepted our request and invited us to the Oval Office on Monday.

Today, Monday, May 24th at 5pm est, Senator Inhofe, Congressmen McGovern and Royce, Jason, Laren, Ben Keesey, Resolve Uganda’s Michael Poffenberger and Lisa Dougan, and the Enough Project’s John Prendergast stood in the Oval Office, circled around President Barack Obama as he signed into law the bill we have carried so far.

Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) commented on the signing of the bill, saying, “This bill’s success is due to the grassroots effort of young people across the U.S. committed to ending the atrocities of Joseph Kony and his Lord’s Resistance Army.” It has been your rallying, your phone calls, letters, emails, activism, and voices that have won this victory. The war is not over, but the stage has been set for justice.

“Our mission now is to make sure that the President uses the mandate it provides from Congress and the American people to do everything he can to see LRA violence ended once and for all.”  - Lisa Dougan, Resolve.

Be proud.  We’ll post pictures and details as soon as we have them!

Pres. Obama, please make a public statement about the LRA

IMPORTANT ACTION STEP:

Facts: Last week, the bill passed Congress. As of today, the physical Bill is in the White House. Starting now, President Obama has 10 days to sign the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act.

But here’s what we really really want: We want Pres. Obama to make a public, personal statement of commitment to help end the LRA violence.

For a year you all have been lobbying Congress to pass this bill, and it passed unanimously. It was an enormous victory. But we won’t be satisfied, even with that. As long as there are people who don’t know about the war in central east Africa, we have to ask for more attention, more exposure, more action.

That’s why we are asking President Obama to do more than just sign the Bill. Here’s how that looks:

This is the official White House website. There’s our Bill (S. 1067) pending a signature, and below it is a place for you to submit a comment….You see where we’re going with this?

MAKE A COMMENT ON THE WHITE HOUSE WEBSITE ABOUT OUR BILL:

If you comment, and we comment, and everyone we know comments….we could send a pretty strong message to the White House.

So say something nice, like:

“I am so glad that this bill has finally made it to President Obama’s office. [Last July, along with two thousand of my peers, I went to Washington, D.C., and lobbied for this bill]. This legislation is very important to me and my generation, so I would like to request that President Obama make a public, personal statement of commitment to help end the LRA violence. Thank  you!”

Change it up, make it personal, but be sure to keep the message (“We want a statement”) clear and direct.

Now it’s time to make this happen and tell everyone we know.

Alright, team…break!

(I sure hope that the White House has a big mailbox, cause it’s about to test its limits).